FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- After spending a good part of the new year at home, the Fairfield University men's basketball team will finish up the regular season wtih five road games over the final seven regular-season contests. The run starts with Thursday night's trip to Marist College for a 7 pm game at the McCann Center.
The Red Foxes enter the game with a 6-18 overall record and a 3-10 MAAC mark. The team will try to snap a five-game skid on Thursday night, coming off a heartbreaking 68-67 setback against Manhattan on the road. The Jaspers posted the deciding points with a three-point field goal with under 10 seconds remaining in the game.
Marist hopes to take advantage of its run of home games that begins with the Stags. The Red Foxes play five of their next six games at the McCann Center, where they own a 3-5 record this season.
Khallid Hart paced the Marist offense with 20 points, his ninth 20-point performance this year and his second straight 20-point effort. The guard picked up 25 points in the Monmouth game on January 30. He currently ranks fourth on the Red Foxes' all-time scoring list and is within 200 points of third-place holder Rik Smits.He has scored in double figures in 87 of his 102 career appearances.
Teammate Brian Parker is next in line with a 12.4 scoring average and has the unusual distinction of being a team leader in rebounding and assists. The guard averages 6.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists every forty minutes, posting a team-high in rebounding 13 times and assists 11 times.
The Stags saw a double-digit second-half deficit disappear against Quinnipiac on Monday night, resulting in a 73-71 setback. Fairfield led by 10 points at halftime and saw its lead increase to 14 points early in the second half. Still ahead by 11 points, Quinnipiac went on a 15-3 run to grab its first lead with a minute remaining, the team's first lead since it opened the game with a 2-0 edge.
Tyler Nelson finished the game with a game-high 29 points, while Amadou Sidibe gathered a game-best 12 rebounds. Curtis Cobb just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. The Stags finished their four-game home stand with a 3-1 record which gives Fairfield an 11-11 overall record and a 6-7 MAAC mark.
Nelson sits atop the Stags leaderboard with a 19.5 scoring average, a number which also leads the MAAC. Sidibe remains the only MAAC student-athlete with a double-digit rebounding average at 10.0. Both student-athletes continue to lead the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in those respective categories.
